Bits and Pieces
by SinisterMastermind
Summary: "He was pretty sure he'd been duped. ...Someone was going to die." Snippets of the Team's time together. IPOD CHALLENGE


**iPod Challenge: Bits and Pieces  
><strong>_Young Justice Style_

iPod Challenge: Basically, you put your iPod/MP3 Player on shuffle. As the first song begins, you write a short snippet, integrating that song in some way, for the duration of the song, no shorter, no less. Repeat nine more times and viola! You have an iPod Challenge.

* * *

><p>1. Dynamite<br>**Taio Cruz**

The club was bouncing, full of flailing limbs and tall bodies. Flashing lights illuminated the mass every few seconds, disorientating everyone momentarily. Music blared loudly, reverberating off the walls and absorbing into the teenagers.

A group of oddballs stood in the middle, dancing slightly more agilely than the rest. A raven-haired boy spun around and twined between the mass of people, cackling loudly and frightening more than half of those in attendance. A red-head boy grinned widely, running to join his friend and ignoring the taunts of a blonde girl, who was fighting her own smile.

Conner and M'gann were oblivious, lost in each other completely. Kaldur stood off to the side, smiling indulgently as Artemis quickly left behind her reprimanding behavior in order to join in with Robin and Wally.

They deserved this break.

**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**

2. Monster  
><strong>Skillet<strong>

Artemis sat in the empty apartment, alone and desolate. Her mother was off with some man she met at work and the blond was fine with that. She needed to be alone.

Cheshire had contacted her about meeting with the Light, something that made her stomach recoil and twist and _burn_. And, had she been in her right mind, she would've initiated her backbone and declined vehemently.

But goddamn that Kid Mouth! He had pushed her too far, insulting her family, her mother, her father, herself, her _life_—

They had no idea. And maybe, it was best they get what they dished out, comrades or not. Artemis had no friends. She needed no friends.

The arrow in her hands snapped cleanly in half.

**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**

3. Boulevard of Broken Dreams  
><strong>Green Day<strong>

The Team stood in the cemetery quietly, in black civvies. Short one member.

The teen-sized casket was already in the ground and buried. Everyone else who had been invited to the service had left long ago, including members of the League. They were alone.

Kaldur'ahm was the first to kneel beside the raised dirt and clean headstone, his head bowed. Robin followed after, less agile than normal and shaking slightly. Wally was fast, too fast to see, but was closely followed by Artemis.

M'gann stood still, her face caked in dry tears and back to green. She stumbled up to the headstone, her feet tripping, until she was directly in front of it. She didn't bow. She didn't kneel. She didn't fall to her knees. He wouldn't have wanted that.

CONNER KENT  
>BELOVED SON AND FRIEND<br>R.I.P.

She stared at the words, even when the sun had left the world far behind and her friends stayed in their positions.

**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**

4. Rainbow Veins  
><strong>Owl City<strong>

Kaldur'ahm swam leisurely, grinning without restraint. He eyed the colorful reef with excitement, eyeing the colors.

Blue and yellow and purple and pink and red and black and gray and white and _everycolorintheworld_—

The fish were as diverse, changing in size and color and pattern. They swam up to him, rubbing up his body happily before darting away to their homes, glubbing in their strange language. He twirled in the alien space, feeling the gravity give, allowing his body to twist easily.

He dived deeper down, the colors disappearing into deeper hues, blending together. A shark shot up from the abyss, eyeing this new visitor warily. It barred its fangs dangerously, swerving toward him momentarily. But its vision recognized him at the last minute and quickly stopped. It sat there a moment, than bowed its head respectfully before disappearing back into its territory.

Aqualad continued on his swim, unhindered. He needed to meet his team soon.

He had gotten his fill of his world.

**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**

5. It Ends Tonight  
><strong>All American Rejects<strong>

The Team was assembled together for the last time.

Aqualad had his belongings packed on his back as he surveyed them. They had all grown over the years, including himself. He almost didn't recognize them. Robin now towered over everyone and had a certain Batman-quality to the way he carried himself. But he was still quick to smile and laugh and joke.

Wally was twitching in place, his form vibrating. Nothing different. But he and Artemis were holding hands, her stomach growing steadily. M'gann and Conner were attached at the hip, smiling widely at their leader and comrade and friend. Each of them were individuals and yet, a whole. The Team was theirs and always would be.

But everything has to end. Kaldur would be the first to go. The rest would leave as they saw fit. And soon, The Team would no longer be, leaving behind six Heroes.

**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**

6. Live Like We're Dying  
><strong>Kris Allen<strong>

Robin cackled loudly, holding his stomach as Wally spluttered across from him. His face was smeared with chocolate ice cream, courtesy of a smug blonde. M'gann hovered in the air, covering her grin with one hand, trying to cover her giggles.

Their mental connection gave it away easily. Conner blinked at them all, turning away from the No Signal Channel (all those black and white dots!) to see what had happened. He didn't get it.

Kaldur snorted from his spot at the table, licking at his own cone leisurely while Wally began a bickering match with the archer (who complied happily). Robin was still cackling.

These were the times they loved. Not the missions, not the League, not the recon: just the simple moments.

**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**

7. Welcome to My life  
><strong>Simple Plan<strong>

Robin stared at himself, head cocked to the side. His mirror-image copied the motion. His bright eyes were hidden beneath a mask of white and he realized, with only a minor shock, that _this _is what his teammates saw every day. A boy with a mask and secret identity.

Not their teammate. What kind of teammate wouldn't trust his friends? Seriously.

His mouth twisted and, with a sudden burst of anger, he snapped the mask in half, smashing it against the mirror. The face that looked back into the spider webbed glass was no better.

Dick Grayson was sneered at or sucked up to or treated like a leper. Someone who _had no _friends or comrades or acquaintances.

Who the _hell _was the real mask?

**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**

8. With Me  
><strong>Sum 41<strong>

Wally grinned at his uncle, who stood at the top of Mount Justice, relaxed.

His Uncle Barry. His mentor. His idol. His family. His _life_.

While KF constantly yearned for that elusive title of Hero, in the back of his mind, he enjoyed being his mentor's right hand man. He liked always being at his side, helping him, protecting him, learning from him, just living with him. He loved his job and sometimes, _sometimes_, he dreamed of only staying at this level, never leaving his Uncle's side.

But then the Team flashed into his mind. And he knew he wanted something more: The Flash's respect. His acknowledgement of Kid Flash's power: growth, intelligence, maturity, _importance _as a member of the Justice League.

And suddenly, both dreams merged. He could be by Barry's side at all times. But as a colleague, not a sidekick; as a part of the League, _not _The Team.

He had his goal. He was ready to reach it.

Time to get going.

**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**

9. Don't Trust Me  
><strong>3Oh!3<strong>

Roy sneered at the girl dancing around him, displaying goods he _really _didn't want to see. She ignored the obvious look, intent on getting the sexy boy into her bed tonight, never mind he wasn't even drinking.

Roy noticed the smeared 'X' on her hand, proof of her adolescence and snorted loudly. A teen trying to be an adult, _how original._

Come to think of it, why the hell was he here to begin with? He hated clubs. Or bars. Or anything that had to deal with big crowds of drunken idiots with no decency.

Oh wait…

His jaw clenched as he remembered the so-urgent-message he got from KF and Boy Wonder about some undercover Light business going on down here.

Unless the Light was suddenly employing half-naked teenagers, he was pretty sure he'd been duped.

…Someone was going to _die_.

**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**

10. Waiting for the End  
><strong>Linkin Park<strong>

The Team sat around the table, quiet and empty. One was missing.

Kaldur'ahm couldn't believe she had done it. She had actually betrayed them. She had sold them out. To the Light, of all things!

Wally clenched his fists. He knew it! He had known it all along! But a part of him was crumpled in the corner, broken.

Robin frowned. They were missing something. A vital part of the equation, a simple question everyone was avoiding _becauseithurtothinkaboutit_: Why had she done it?

Conner was seething, seeing red. His body quaked with betrayal, his blood roaring in his ears, and his adrenaline skyrocketing. How dare she? How dare she try to tear apart everything he had? That bitch.

M'gann wasn't thinking. She was trying to keep everyone together, keep them calm, keep them sane, keep them from distrusting one another.

Suddenly, the zeta beam went off and in walked the blonde archer.

"Kill me or capture me: I don't care. Just end me."

* * *

><p><strong>Authoress Rant<strong>

Holy hand-cramp, Batman!  
>…This was <em>slightly <em>more difficult than I had originally anticipated. But it was fuuun~!

I really liked how prompt nine turned out. =^.^= Funny enough, I really wanted a club-y song, because prompt one was in my head and I was like "KSDKAJKLD!" when I got one the first try. And then, at prompt nine, I got that song and was like "oh dear" because I didn't want two. And I was like "SPEEDY/RED ARROW/ROY!" The birth of clubbing!Roy.

AND THE DIALOGUE! …There _was_ none, except for the last line, just as I intended! C=  
>Current Mood: Ridiculously Proud ^.^<p>

I refuse to go back and read, other than for editing purposes, because than I'll just delete everything and restart. I don't think my hands can **HAND**le it (in case the Upper-Case/bolded letters were too subtle: pun intended).

Origins of iPod Challenge: …Google. I wanted a no-commit, easy- quick, challenge and was like, "Google is the guru and knows all." I was right. And apparently, this has like twelve-kajillion origins so…I'm stickin' with Google.

Was it any good? Confusing? Disjointed? Hurried? Too much description? Not enough? Characters In-Character? Out of character?

Personally, I think it might be really disjointed (within each prompt, I mean, not as a whole, 'cause that's kinda the point as a whole) and a wee bit confusing if you don't live in my head and thus, see my thought process.

What do _you_ think? (subtle-though-super-embarrassingly-obvious nudge at the button below) OH! How long has _that _been there? 0.-

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Young Justice. I do not own the songs. I merely own the words that sew them together. Please, no distribution/copying/translating without my permission.


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